The Trump administration has offered Alexander Lukashenko an end to international isolation: In return for releasing hundreds of political prisoners, Belarus is getting increased sanctions relief. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus, a former Soviet republic bordering Russia and Ukraine, since 1994.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus’s opposition leader in exile, welcomes the negotiations. Her husband was among those freed. But she also warns that this humanitarian engagement could strengthen Lukashenko’s regime.